Kenya Wildlife Services has taken down two elephants in Kajiado West after they were involved in the deaths of residents in the area within a week.
According to residents, the animals were involved in the deaths of residents in different locations within the area, the latest being that of a 40-year-old in the Ikiroti area on December 23.
Earlier, three people were killed, including an ECDE teacher who was trampled by an elephant in Iloodokilan.
Others who have lost their lives to the animals are a 23-year-old in Oltepes and a 41-year-old in Mosiro.
A survivor of one of the encounters reported that an elephant confronted three people. One person survived after being thrown into a trench, while another was trampled on and killed after crossing it.
"We were three; the other one was lucky – he was thrown into the trench. I was also lucky because it was after I crossed the trench that the elephant stepped on him,” a survivor narrated.
KWS officers said the affected areas lie along an established elephant corridor used by animals moving from the Emara and Magadi regions towards Amboseli National Park. The movement has increased encounters between elephants and residents.
“This place is a corridor where elephants from Emara and Magadi come here, headed to Amboseli. The elephants are many, and they prefer coming here because the habitat is still intact,” a KWS officer stated.
Kajiado West MP George Sukuya said elephants had been blocking roads and entering homesteads, noting that the victims were attacked at or near their homes.
“There are other elephants who stand in the way and even come to people's homes. Even the people who were killed were from their homes,” Kajiado West MP George Sukuya stated.
The Kajiado incidents occurred amid a broader rise in fatal human-elephant conflicts across Kenya in 2025. Other reported cases during the year included deaths in Isiolo and Kwale.
In Kitui, a ranger was killed by an elephant in the Kirisia Forest area.
Whereas in Samburu, Narok, Laikipia, and Kericho counties, the deaths involved farmers, herders, and schoolchildren.
